Spring reveals yet another beautiful mess

The winter months have finally begun to yeild to the climate of spring.  Long cold, cloudy winter days have become milder, cloudy, rainy days with a few days of bright warm sun.  We actually had a picinic the day of my birthday (February 18th) outside in the 55 degree weather.  I don't ever remember it being warm enough to enjoy a family meal outside on my birthday before. 

But with the approach of spring also comes the revealing of all the things that need to be repaired and renovated to accomendate life on the farm.  So what follows is a list of things that will need to be addressed here in the next couple of months as the weather turns nicer.


Just prior to winter we had a hail storm that damaged the roof of our house, the farm house and the mill.  It also damaged the siding on these buildings as well.  While insurance has taken care of most of that, there are still minor repairs that will be necessary as things warm up and outside jobs become more tolerable.

This winter we also had an ice storm which left us with over 1.5 inches of ice on the ground for 2+ days.  We lost many limbs from trees around the farm.  I also accidently drove the van into the front of the mill because I couldn't stop on the ice.  While it doesn't need immediate repair we will have to attend to it this spring.

To top it all off we had a snow storm that dumped about 8 inches in just a few hours only to be followed up a couple of days later with 40 degree weather and lots of rain.  This produced flash flooding which over ran the boundaries of the creek and did damage to our pasture fencing.  And it's raining again today with the creek swelling! (c:

So talk about a beautiful mess... spring is here and it's revealed all kinds of work that needs to be attended to.  If you add to this list the need to build a better chicken coop that's closer to the garden and away from the soggy soil where it currently lies, a portable shelter for the ram/buck pasture which currently has no protection from the elements at all, and a new sheep shed that will allow us to have a place to assist with lambing and kidding and shearing day, we're quickly realizing that it's going to be a busy spring...

And did we mention that we're going to Kyrgyzstan April 21st to May 5th, have 3 pregnant ewes and 1 pregnant doe, and need to put a garden in.  Glad we have so many capable helpers in the family.

I'm sure your spring is full of many things that need done and you might feel overwhelmed as we do.  Trust in God he's making all things beautiful.  And as you abide in him and allow him to supply you with all the resources you need to bear much fruit you will see that beauty become a reality.

Be God's... for he makes all things beautiful,
JC